After Elias’s warning, Liam’s reputation at the academy took a sharp nosedive. It wasn’t just whispers anymore—people actively avoided him.
So looked at him with fear, others with contempt, but most simply ignored his existence.
Liam wasn’t the type to care about social standing, but the sudden change in how people treated him was irritating. He had done nothing wrong.
Yet, because he had signed a contract with the Emperor Guild, he was now seen as soone to be feared or hated.
It didn’t matter.
Liam focused on what was important—the upcoming tournant.
The rules had been announced. This year’s tournant would be a Dungeon Conquest.
Participants would be thrown into random dungeons, separated from their allies and competitors.
Their goal? Find their way back to the original world before ti ran out.
The tournant wouldn’t just test strength—it would test survival skills, adaptability, and intelligence.
Liam smirked. This was going to be fun.
When the tournant officially began, Liam felt the familiar pull of teleportation magic. A mont later, he found himself standing in the middle of an endless desert.
The sun blazed above him, the ground beneath his feet was hot, and the air shimred with heatwaves. There was nothing but sand in every direction. No structures. No landmarks. No shade.
Liam exhaled slowly and ran a hand through his hair.
"This is the dungeon I got, huh?"
At first glance, it looked like a survival challenge—an environnt designed to wear him down until he collapsed. But sothing was off.
Everything here is made of magic.
Liam narrowed his eyes. The sand, the heat, even the sun above—it was all an illusion, a well-crafted magical construct. If he wanted, he could break the dungeon’s reality and walk out easily.
But that would an exposing himself.
He couldn’t afford to show the Emperor Guild—or anyone else—what he was truly capable of.
So, instead of breaking the illusion, Liam decided to play along.
______
The tournant rules were simple: Find a way back to the original world.
Liam knew there had to be an exit hidden sowhere in this artificial desert. The problem was where and how to get to it.
He started walking.
Hours passed. The heat bore down on him, and his throat felt dry, but he didn’t slow down. There had to be clues sowhere.
Then, he noticed it.
The sand was shifting in a strange pattern. Almost as if sothing beneath it was moving.
Liam stopped and observed.
Every few minutes, the sand would ripple in a wide circular motion. The pattern repeated over and over again. It wasn’t natural—it was a chanism.
A smile tugged at his lips.
"Found you."
Liam crouched and placed his palm against the sand, focusing his energy.
If the dungeon follows logic, then this should be the key to escaping.
He sent a controlled pulse of magic downward, triggering whatever was hidden beneath. The response was imdiate.
The sand around him started sinking.
Liam allowed himself to be swallowed.
When Liam opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the desert.
He stood inside an underground labyrinth, made of smooth stone with glowing runes carved into the walls. The air was cool, and in the distance, he could hear the faint sound of rushing water.
Liam exhaled.
"Well, that’s progress."
Now, he just needed to find the exit.
Unlike the desert above, this place felt more alive. There was an ancient presence here, sothing watching him from the shadows.
Liam moved cautiously, his senses on high alert.
Then, he heard a noise—footsteps.
Liam turned the corner and ca face-to-face with another competitor.
Elias.
Elias was a well-known figure in the academy—one of the top students, famous for his brutal fighting style and aggressive personality. He had always looked down on Liam, but now, there was sothing new in his eyes.
Suspicion.
"You! I should’ve known you’d end up in a place like this."
Elias sneered.
Liam raised an eyebrow.
"You make it sound like I had a choice."
Elias crossed his arms.
"Word around the academy is that you signed with the Emperor Guild because of an inside connection. That true?"
Liam sighed. Here we go again.
"What if it is?"
Liam said, keeping his tone neutral.
Elias’s jaw clenched.
"Then you’re just another pawn for those bastards."
Liam wasn’t in the mood to argue, so he turned away.
"Believe whatever you want."
But Elias wasn’t done.
"You don’t get it, do you? People like you—people who don’t belong in Emperor Guild—get used and thrown away. If you think they actually care about you, you’re a fool."
He said, stepping closer.
Liam stopped walking.
He glanced over his shoulder, eyes cold.
"This is the second ti you told this and never said I cared about them either."
Elias stared at him, then scoffed.
"Whatever. Stay out of my way."
Liam watched him leave, shaking his head.
’If everyone is this focused on my connection to the Emperor Guild, it’s going to be a problem.’
Elias wasn’t one to let things go easily. Even after Liam dismissed him, the air between them remained tense.
"You think you’re better than , don’t you?"
Elias growled, stepping closer.
Liam sighed. Here we go again.
"I don’t care about you enough to think about anything."
Liam replied flatly.
That was enough to set Elias off. He lunged, his fist crackling with raw magical energy. Liam barely had ti to dodge as the attack shattered the stone wall behind him.
Fast. But not fast enough.
Liam retaliated imdiately, sending a sharp gust of wind toward Elias, forcing him back. The two clashed, exchanging quick blows, their magic colliding in bursts of energy.
For a mont, it looked like neither would back down—until Elias suddenly stepped onto unstable ground.
The mont his foot landed, the stone beneath him crumbled. His eyes widened as the floor gave way, revealing a pit of sharp, enchanted spikes below.
"Shit—!"
Elias barely had ti to react before he fell.
Liam reached out instinctively but stopped himself. Elias had rushed in without thinking. This was on him.
Elias disappeared into the darkness, his scream echoing through the labyrinth.
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